Of Princesses, Dragons, and Conquest

[classifidol]

[ she's no stranger to the idea. In times of war and strife, the heads of factions would most certainly not remain idle. Takane had known, and yet, she would have expected someone responsible for Oshu's well-being not to go about making idiotically reckless moves. And perhaps any other girl would be able to set it aside, realizing that for all of his bravado and skill and experience, Masamune was only nineteen.

But for someone who behaved far more responsibly than people twice her age, that wasn't an acceptable excuse. Any opposition wouldn't have seen it as one.

And truthfully, Takane's not fond of how it felt, knowing he'd risked himself to the point of being bed-bound for days, that he should have known better, that her chest squeezed - aching and sharp - whenever she went in to change bandages and exchange cool cloths, that she'd felt so helpless. Kojuro has probably already lectured him, but she's not the type to remain silent when she has things of her own to say.

Masamune should be mobile today. She's carrying a bucket of water to one of the vegetable gardens before she abruptly changes her course to seek him out.

At which point she will oh so subtly block his path. ]

Comments

[dragonizing]

[ the dragon's been sleeping for what seemed to be a century. perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it had been forced to rest for a century, and a century was perhaps nothing more than a couple of days--maybe a week. he lost track of things when the days seemed so long, and his only comfort was that he'd managed to win the battle in exchange for some panic and a couple of lectures. kojuro always gave some good ones--they always made masamune think and feel something other than immense pride, even if that was the majority of what he felt, most of the time.

for once, though, masamune felt the slightest bit of something between guilt and actually feeling... well, something not guilt. the men of the army were quick to worry but also quick to celebrate, and that was how it was, most of the time; kojuro injected the logic and maturity, but there was an addition of something in recent days that made him think of things a bit more than kojuro had. rather, think of different things.

... she had changed his bandages and cared for him, and though he hadn't caught sight of anything past that it seemed to hit him in a rather awkward way. and she was now in his way quite physically: right in the middle of his path from his room to the front field. the swords at his waist seemed rather heavy, at this point. ]

. . . Yo, Shijou. [ he says this slowly, right after staring at the bucket of water and her face for a couple of seconds. ] Need something?

Embracing 101

[classifidol]

[ perhaps she had thoroughly intimidated the men of Oshu when they'd first laid eyes on her, the frail ghost of a girl with the piercing gaze and the imposing aura, but they'd soon warmed to her and had grown more comfortable speaking with her like she was one of their own. Less roughly, maybe.

This meant she was privy to some of the topics they didn't dare bring up to their leader, which occasionally included things like how the man needed to relax every now and then, that sometimes he didn't indulge in the finer joys of life like the rest of his men (barring Kojuro) did. And a few other things that had made her expression turn reproving until they'd realized who it was they were talking to.

But among the talks, the suggestion had been brought up. It would have been strange for them, but Takane surely possessed the gentleness of her gender and was therefore the one most qualified to offer comfort to Masamune. Nothing fancy, nothing difficult.

Just a hug.

The thought still rests heavily in her mind as she sits now, catching her breath after a quick training session. Her eyes flick towards the dragon sitting nonchalantly beside her, and she ponders. He does look tired at times, when he doesn't have to keep his shoulders straight and his head high. Would it really help...? ]